Annie was rescued as a baby from a puppy mill in Kentucky.  When she was about 9 months old, the horrors began – she started breaking out in bleeding sores all over her body and running an extremely high fever.  We rushed her to the 24-hour emergency vet where they were basically perplexed.  They put her on antibiotics, sent her home and wished us the best.  She was not getting any better; in fact, her condition was worsening.  We checked her in at her regular vet where, God bless them, they put her through all kinds of tests, called all over the country to all kinds of specialists, and went way above and beyond what most would have done.  Finally, she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder so rate that it had only presented in a handful of humans, two cows, a pig and one dog – Annie.  And, of course, anti-biotics were the exact wrong thing to do.  But once she was diagnosed, they started treating correctly and, after almost 2 years of, and over $11,000 worth of treatments, she’s happy, healthy, and picked up exactly where she left off.  At 5 years old, she’s like a puppy all over again.  I’m thankful we are the ones who rescued her, because otherwise I’m certain she’d have been put down. She has brought us so much joy and laughter, I can’t imagine life without her.

— Robin from Arlington, VA